In 1972, long before "homelessness" emerged as a public issue in the early '80s, volunteers in Cambridge began offering refuge to "street people." This led to one of the nation's first homeless shelters: the Cambridge Shelter, incorporated in 1974. In 1977 the Shelter moved to its present location on School Street, where it now shelters 20 people per night. In 1983 they opened the Boston Family Shelter, one of the first family shelters in Massachusetts, a pioneering program focusing on healthy childhood development. In 1989, with the homeless crisis deepening, they opened the Medford Family Life Center, a transitional program for families. In 1991 the Women's Drop-In program was opened, and in 1995 Common Ground, a transitional program for women. In 1996 they launched Project Connect, a 2,000 voice-mailbox system in over 30 agencies throughout Greater Boston for homeless seekers of housing and jobs. So after 25 years of steady growth, this creative agency is doing some heavy lifting—in FY 2004, Shelter served over 3,000 women, men and children; 90% of the children were enrolled in school or child-care. The Cambridge Shelter gave 7,660 nights of shelter to 100 people; 79% of families served moved into transitional or long-term housing; 90% of Project Connect's users got jobs or housing. Shelter is the grandaddy of them all—a hard-working, productive, and creative mainstay that can well use your strategic support.